Monday, 28 January 2013

A Lesson in Chaos

This weekend I played my first few games in a local "Crusade of Fire" Campaign, a great chance to play against some new armies I don't usually game against. I brought my usual Imperial Guard/Blood Angels combination, and lost miserably. I was outgunned, outmaneuvered and out-zombied!

So many Zombies!

First up was a game against the new 'Zombie Horde' of Typhus and his Chaos Cultists with Feel No Pain. Backed by a Noise Marines (ignore cover) and Orks (with Kustom Force Field covered Killa Kans packing Grot Blastas) I had a hard time choosing the 'best' target for my Heavy Weapons, while my Blood Angels drowned under a horde of Cultists:

Very few places to Deep Strike on a 4'x4' board full of models. 1250 point battles never looked so impressive!

In the end I conceded the game, down 5-1 Kill/Victory Points with very little left on the table:

I conceded before the amusing prospect of an Obliterator manning my Quad Gun became reality.

My second game provided an opportunity to teach an ill-equipped opponent the power of Imperial Guard orders and precision Deep Strikes from my Blood Angels. Facing Chaos Daemons, whose entire army Deep Strike in, I spread out in deployment and crossed my fingers for some bad scatter rolls on their part. Much to my dismay (putting it mildly) only one of my opponent's nine Deep Strike rolls in the entire game actually scattered, leaving my Imperial Guard standing behind a wall of tissue paper as three units of Flamers of Tzeentch landed dead on target, using their template weapons to maximum advantage and completely ignoring my AEGIS Defence Line!

Text book Daemon Deployment with zero scatter.

I rallied (in confidence at least) with the arrival of my Blood Angels, opened up with my Lasguns and made meals of the Plaguebearers and took out a few Flamers to boot. My Lascannon even knocked out a Soul Grinder as well!

Now you see them...

Alas, it all went downhill with the arrival of the 'Masque' who, in pied-piper style, had my Blood Angels dance a merry jig into an even tighter ball for the Flamers to roast. Even with Feel No Pain, some snazzy 'Look Out Sir!' rolling, and saves made against my Storm Shield wielding sergeant, the weight of templates took their toll. I have no idea what this loss means for the campaign, but things are looking grim for the Imperial Defenders.

...now you don't.

These recent games have begun to question the flexibility of an Imperial Guard 'Blob' behind an AEGIS Defence Line. A lack of mobile protection and flexibility are the glaring weaknesses, with the opponent either ignoring the Defences entirely (Flamers) or not really caring about the additional cover (Zombie Horde). One thing is for sure, these games have highlighted my desperate need to get cracking on my Stormraven Gunship!